Chapter 97: Lost Body

After leaving the Medicine Garden, Long Xuan held the map and walked quickly toward the Sleeping Hall.

Along the way, he encountered corpses from time to time; half had died in the dangers of the Ancient Tomb, while the other half had clearly perished in struggles against their own kind.

It seemed that not only was the battle in the Medicine Garden fierce, but those seeking treasures in other places had likely encountered all sorts of accidents as well.

"Strangely, everyone who died on this road is a Lei Clan Gu Cultivator."

Gazing at a corpse on the ground whose clothing bore a lightning emblem, Long Xuan frowned slightly and suddenly stopped in his tracks.

On this road, he had already seen more than one such corpse; every few steps, he would find another Lei Clan Gu Cultivator lying dead on the ground.

No blood flowed from them; their wounds seemed frozen by an icy qi, and everyone had died in exactly the same manner.

It was not hard to guess that ahead, a group of Lei Clan Gu Cultivators must be hunting down someone.

This person possessed great strength, managing to kill their pursuers occasionally even while fighting many alone; few in the Ancient Tomb possessed such power.

The two Gu King Avatars that had just emerged from the Medicine Garden could be ruled out, and the last Gu King Avatar was the Lei Clan Ancestor, who could also be excluded, as Lei Clan Gu Cultivators would surely not be hunting their own Ancestor.

After eliminating these three options, he quickly thought of Long Ziyan's figure; besides her, Long Xuan truly could not think of anyone else with such strength.

A Heavenly Pride capable of fighting dozens alone within the same realm was a rarity not just in the Ancient Tomb, but in the entire world.

Therefore, Long Xuan could basically lock his target onto this Senior Sister of his.

He thought for a moment and ultimately decided to chase after them to see what was happening.

Before long, he heard the sound of fierce fighting ahead, so he accelerated and rushed toward the source of the noise.

Soon he arrived at the location where both sides were battling and finally saw that graceful figure; just as he had predicted, the person being besieged was indeed his Senior Sister, Long Ziyan.

At this moment, Long Ziyan was panting slightly, a clear sign of excessive consumption; although her combat prowess was extraordinary, she ultimately did not possess the vast amount of Spiritual Power found in a Ten Absolute Body, and after facing the rotating attacks of over twenty Lei Clan Gu Cultivators, her Spiritual Power was nearly exhausted.

She was merely gritting her teeth and holding on; with a Lei Clan Ancestor lurking nearby to harass her from time to time, her chances of escaping were slim.

Seeing the wound on her back, Long Xuan frowned slightly; if she had not given him the Second-tier Dragon Silkworm Treasure Garment, there would have been no wound on her body at all.

In the end, he owed her a favor and had no choice but to save her.

After a brief moment of thought, Long Xuan ultimately decided to play the hero and save the beauty; after all, she was his Senior Sister, and both sentiment and reason demanded he rescue her.

He delayed no longer and rushed forward at maximum speed.

Before he even arrived, the Dragon Gu struck first.

The Dragon Gu suddenly appeared on the back of one person's neck and bit through it, then instantly shifted to another's back, its dragon claws piercing through their heart in an instant, followed by a third person...

Just like that, in the blink of an eye, seven people died miserably on the ground; the Lei Clan Gu Cultivators besieging Long Ziyan were now reduced to just over a dozen, and the encirclement instantly developed a gap.

Everyone was stunned...

"What in the world is this thing!"

"So fast! What kind of Gu Worm is this, so evil!"

"How did it appear instantly? Damn it..."

The crowd erupted in screams of agony.

As another person fell in a pool of blood, everyone turned pale with shock and activated their Spirit Armor with full force, completely disregarding the cost.

Facing something so elusive, everyone panicked, standing back-to-back and looking around in every direction, utterly losing their composure.

This creature capable of instantly appearing anywhere was truly terrifying; everyone was frightened out of their wits.

The Lei Clan Ancestor's pupils constricted, revealing an expression of extreme shock.

This thing's killing speed was truly too fast, nearly one kill per second, traveling thousands of miles without leaving a trace; even with his vast experience, he had never seen such a terrifying Gu Worm, and this ability to appear instantly was something he was encountering for the first time.

For anyone whose defense was insufficient, facing this Gu Worm meant certain death; there was simply no solution.

In his fear, the armor woven from lightning upon his body thickened once again.

"This is an Extreme Grade Gu Worm! Everyone be careful, stand back-to-back, and increase your defenses!"

The Lei Clan Ancestor roared loudly, casting a wary glance at the masked man who had suddenly charged into the battlefield.

Long Xuan glanced at that Lei Clan Ancestor and silently sighed with regret.

This old fellow was simply too steady; even though this was a battle with no suspense, he still maintained a layer of Lightning Armor over his body surface at all times, revealing no flaws, even though doing so consumed a massive amount of his Spiritual Power.

Facing this overly cautious old fellow, the Dragon Gu found it difficult to strike, so it could only shift instantly to clear out the small fry first; otherwise, the Dragon Gu's first sneak attack should have been directed at him.

If he had been without any defense just now, he would have certainly died under the Dragon Gu's sneak attack, even though he was a Gu King Reincarnator.

But his caution, cultivated over many years, had ultimately saved his life this time.

Seeing the Spirit Armor on all the Lei Clan Gu Cultivators thicken, the Dragon Gu could still break through it but could no longer achieve instant kills as before; thus, Long Xuan did not let the Dragon Gu take further risks, instead grabbing Long Ziyan's arm and running outward.

"Go!"

Long Xuan had absolutely no intention of fighting a Gu King Reincarnator; he had always been accustomed to caution, and unless he had a hundred percent chance of victory, his choice was always to run rather than fight.

"Chase them! Leave that person to me! You all just be careful of that Gu Worm's sneak attacks!"

The Lei Clan Ancestor watched the retreating figures of the two, gritting his teeth fiercely; how could he be willing to let them escape so easily? He led his people in relentless pursuit from behind.

The speed of the Lei Clan Gu Cultivators was famous; among the Seven Great Clans, the Lei Clan Gu Cultivators were the fastest, with lightning flashing beneath their feet allowing them to cover unknown distances in an instant, so shaking off this group was truly not an easy task.

Moreover, Long Ziyan looked panting and exhausted, clearly lacking stamina, so she likely could not run much farther.

Long Xuan glanced back from time to time, and seeing that they could not shake off their pursuers, he devised a plan, turning to Long Ziyan and saying, "Follow me!"

With that, he ran toward another fork in the road.

"The path you're running toward is a dead end; ahead lies a Lava Sea!" Long Ziyan hurriedly shouted a warning.

Although Long Xuan wore a face covering, she recognized at a glance that the one who saved her was that nominal Junior Brother; that her nominal Junior Brother was so strong left her greatly surprised.

Thinking that her Junior Brother possessed a map drawn by their clan, he could not possibly not know that that road led to the Lava Sea.

Since he chose to run down that path, he was either a fool or he had a method to break the deadlock.

She chose to believe the latter, so gritting her teeth, she ran down that path together with Long Xuan.

"Hahaha... That road is a dead end! Your Long Clan's map is incomplete! This is you seeking your own death!"

Behind them rang the mad laughter of the Lei Clan Ancestor.

Soon, one Lei Clan Gu Cultivator after another also ran toward that path.

Before long, Long Xuan felt rolling waves of heat rushing toward his face ahead; ahead was a sea of fire, and before he could even approach, it was scorching hot enough to kill.

Standing at the cliff's edge, he looked down; below was a wide Lava River, slowly flowing in some direction, unknown where it was headed.

In his eyes, there were actually living things moving within the lava, seemingly alive, making him feel greatly wary.

Creatures capable of surviving in lava could absolutely not be weak.

Long Xuan took a deep breath, looked back at the pursuers drawing ever closer, hesitated no longer, wrapped an arm around Long Ziyan's slender waist, and leaped down off the cliff.

Everyone behind him widened their eyes in shock; just as they were bewildered by this scene, they saw that man actually place his left foot on his right foot, lightly leap, and fly up into the air.

Immediately after, he stepped his right foot onto his left foot, leaped through the air several more times, and finally, while carrying another person, landed steadily on the opposite shore of the Lava Sea, then fled without a trace.

Everyone's jaws dropped so wide they could fit an egg; stunned by this scene, they all rubbed their eyes hard together, unable to believe what they were seeing.

"Damn! How the hell did he do that!"

"Left foot stepping on right foot allows flight? Are you kidding me?"

"Am I seeing things? Can stepping foot-on-foot really allow walking in midair?"

The crowd of Lei Clan Gu Cultivators ran to the cliff edge, all dumbfounded, shocked by this inconceivable scene for a long time, unable to recover their senses.

The Lei Clan Ancestor's face turned iron-green, already on the verge of explosive rage.

"Which one of you can fly!" he roared.

Everyone looked at each other; not a single person answered.

The ability to fly was far too rare; even the Ancestor could not do it, so how could they possibly?

Even if they could, they would not admit it; otherwise, they would have to fly over themselves to face that ruthless man, and would likely die terribly.

The Flying Boat they had ridden here could fly across, but the problem was that the Flying Boat was with the Spirit Sea Stage Gu Cultivators outside; they could not bring it inside.

Therefore, facing this situation, they were completely helpless; it was impossible to catch up with the man...

"Damn it! Where exactly did that kid come from! His Gu Worms are bizarre, never seen before, and his Movement Technique is equally inconceivable, unheard of; who exactly is he..."

Seeing the duck about to be eaten fly away, Lei Yiming stood on the verge of explosive rage, his expression terrifyingly ferocious.

Thinking about what would happen next, his heart was bleeding...

This was an area not mapped on any map; after all, the ability to fly was far too rare, and very few people could reach the opposite shore of the lava.

What lay on the other side of the opposite shore, what dangers existed, was completely unknown; with no understanding whatsoever, Long Xuan dared not venture deeper, so he supported Long Ziyan and first hid inside a Shandong, sealing the entrance.

At this moment, Long Ziyan was panting heavily; at first, Long Xuan thought it was due to physical exhaustion, but gradually he finally realized something seemed wrong.

The way Senior Sister looked at him was completely different; the feeling she gave him was like a fire of desire—yes, a fire of desire—as if she wanted to eat him alive.

Long Xuan's heart jumped in alarm; could those guys have administered that kind of Medicine to Long Ziyan? His face changed slightly.

This kind of Medicine was not poison at all; his Antidote Pill seemingly would not work.

"Senior Sister, are you alright?" Long Xuan asked weakly.

Long Ziyan forcibly shifted her gaze elsewhere, saying: "You should already have guessed my situation; apart from that method, there is no solution."

"This is merely a Clone; you need not bear any burden."

Long Xuan understood her meaning in an instant; if he still did not understand, he would truly be a fool.

Three hours later, Long Xuan stared blankly in a daze at Long Ziyan, who was sitting by the bed combing her hair.

Do not ask why there was a bed here; Long Xuan, this oddball, carried beds, tables, chairs, pots and pans, and seasonings on his person at all times.

His thoughts at this moment were complex; although this was only a Clone of Long Ziyan, the Clone's body was exactly identical to the main body's, was it not?

Moreover, the way Long Ziyan controlled her Clone was through One Mind Dual Use; everything that had just occurred, the main body would feel identically.

Women in this world were very conservative in thought; this degree of transgression already counted as losing chastity, so in this conservative world, she could never marry another man again; her only choice was himself.

Thinking thus, Long Xuan felt somewhat moved; the path of cultivation was a long, arduous journey requiring endurance of countless ages of loneliness; he would absolutely not remain a eunuch for eternity like other Longevity Path protagonists; he definitely needed to find a Dual Cultivation Dao Companion.

His requirements were not high; as long as she was a peerless beauty, that would suffice.

Truly, he was not picky in the slightest.

Long Ziyan's appearance was breathtakingly beautiful, her elegance unmatched; she fit his aesthetic standards perfectly, absolutely qualifying as an excellent candidate for a Dual Cultivation Dao Companion.

Long Xuan made a decision in his heart; deciding to strike while the iron was hot, he would boldly confess; women in this conservative world had thin skins, so in such matters, he had to speak first, otherwise who knew how long it might drag on.

At this moment, how could he remember having said he would never eat the grass near his own stable; he had already completely forgotten the words he had just spoken.

"Uh, Ziyan, since this has already happened, and I also have Intent toward you, why don't we simply become Dual Cultivation Dao Companions?" Long Xuan looked at her back and said boldly.

Long Ziyan turned her head and looked at him plainly, her expression utterly unchanged, still cold as frost as usual; she slowly rose and walked toward the cave exit.

From the cave entrance, two words drifted faintly.

"No."

Long Xuan froze; rejected so bluntly? Had he just been used for free? She actually did not want to take responsibility and just left; she was truly a scumwoman.

However, his skin was thick; being rejected did not cause any change in his emotions; he simply took it as her being too reserved; after all, the two of them had moved too fast, having known each other for not long, needing some time to understand each other mutually; once they became familiar, it would be fine; she could not marry anyone else again, so if she did not marry him, who else could she marry?

At this moment, Long Xuan still did not know just how difficult it would be to conquer this woman; it was absolutely a difficulty level of hell.

Long Xuan rose, stored the bed into his Storage Bag, and with thick skin, directly followed after her.

The two did not proceed toward the unknown world ahead; time was limited, and temporally they were not allowed to venture deeper; they had just busied themselves for three hours, and now little time remained; estimatedly, within a few hours, dawn would break.

The two returned once again to the edge of that Lava Sea; clearly, the crowd of Lei Clan Gu Cultivators would not continue guarding on the other side.

Time was limited; they still needed to visit the various Tomb Chambers to seek treasures; how could they have time to waste here with them?

Long Xuan cautiously swept the opposite shore with his Heavenly Mechanism Eye; discovering no living things, he turned his head to Long Ziyan and said: "That group is not there; we can cross over."

Long Ziyan nodded; actually, even if they were there, it would not matter; now her strength had recovered to its Peak state; joining forces with Long Xuan, that group might not even be worth looking at, even if a Gu King Reincarnator was hidden among them.

Long Xuan wrapped an arm around Long Ziyan's slender waist, activated Treading Stars, stepped foot-on-foot, and once again easily leaped to the opposite shore.

Long Ziyan watched in astonishment; even now, she found this movement technique inconceivable, as using such a method to fly had shattered her understanding, filling her heart with immense curiosity, yet her thin skin made her too embarrassed to ask further.

After the two jumped to the opposite bank, Long Ziyan first took out a map from her Storage Bag to examine it, then chose a path and walked forward.

This time, Long Xuan did not act alone; wherever Long Ziyan went, he followed, tailing her closely.

Soon, under Long Ziyan's lead, he arrived at a Tomb Chamber where the stone walls were covered in Wall Paintings; holding a lamp, Long Ziyan gazed at them with rapt attention.

Long Xuan frowned slightly; the treasures in this Tomb Chamber had obviously been looted long ago, leaving nothing here but the Wall Paintings.

At this moment, Long Xuan finally understood Long Ziyan's hobby: she was a history enthusiast, deeply interested in history, and since Divine Mythology was part of history, it had also become one of her interests.

Her decision to send a Clone into the Ancient Tomb likely meant she had not set her sights on any treasure, but had come entirely to explore history.

He could not help but feel pity for Long Lie; to actually pin his hopes on Long Ziyan was simply insane.

As members of the same tribe, he dared to place his bet on her without even clearly understanding Long Ziyan's personality.

If Long Lie knew that Long Ziyan's purpose in entering the tomb was not to seek treasure but to research those boring histories, he would surely be angered to death.

Had he known this earlier, he would never have dared to start such a gambling match; pinning hope on her guaranteed a loss.

Borrowing the light from the lamp in Long Ziyan's hand, Long Xuan curiously scanned the surrounding Wall Paintings.

In truth, these Wall Paintings might not be useless; they recorded many secret pieces of information which could prove useful for the upcoming treasure hunt, perhaps serving as the key to obtaining treasure or helping him avoid many dangers.

Therefore, he observed very carefully, missing not a single inch or corner.

The Wall Paintings recorded the life story of the Yaoguang Female Emperor, from growing up in the Cold Palace with her Mother Consort, reliant on no one, to contending with a host of elder brothers for the Imperial Throne.

After launching a palace coup and becoming a generation's Female Emperor, she suppressed rebellions with an iron fist, turning the empire into a war machine that campaigned everywhere; under her leadership, the territory of the Daying Empire expanded rapidly.

At that time, the Yaoguang Female Emperor's prestige within the country had reached its peak, and during her reign, the Daying Empire achieved unprecedented strength.

The final Wall Painting depicted a magnificent scene of a great battle between two armies; one side was clearly the army of the Daying Empire, its scale unknown, with a huge palanquin carried by eight people at the very front, upon which sat a figure whose face was unclear—undoubtedly the Yaoguang Female Emperor.

Opposite her stood the army of another nation, its military banner bearing a large character for 'Di' (Emperor), yet for some reason, ten suns appeared in the sky above this army.

No one knew the outcome of this battle, which side had achieved victory, or what the losses were for both parties.

"This Wall Painting depicts the final decisive battle between the Daying Empire and the Reincarnation Ancient Kingdom; the Reincarnation Ancient Kingdom was an ancient nation established by the Di Clan, possessing the longest National Fortune in history."

"The Reincarnation Ancient Kingdom could refine a Heaven-Defying Gu Worm called the Reincarnation Gu, allowing the Emperor of the Reincarnation Ancient Kingdom to borrow its power to undergo Reincarnation repeatedly while retaining their memories."

"When a nation's Emperor is a Longevity Practitioner, that nation is destined to become an immortal kingdom, never heading toward destruction due to a monarch's incompetence."

"Other nations often perished due to decay within a few hundred or thousand years, whereas this Reincarnation Ancient Kingdom, because its Emperor was a Longevity Practitioner, could endure for countless myriad years without declining."

"Countless nations, seeking the Secret of longevity, continuously launched wars against the Reincarnation Ancient Kingdom; though the Reincarnation Ancient Kingdom was surrounded by enemies from start to finish and remained in a state of war for years, it still stood firm through countless myriad years."

"However, as Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power grew increasingly thin, the materials needed to refine the Reincarnation Gu eventually became extinct; although the Reincarnation Gu refined with cut corners still possessed the ability of Reincarnation, it could no longer allow people to reincarnate with their memories."

"Consequently, the Emperor of the Reincarnation Ancient Kingdom was no longer wise; in his old age, he became incompetent, greedy for lust, and indulgent in pleasure, ultimately allowing the Daying Empire to seize the opportunity and annihilate them in one stroke."

"The Wall Painting depicts the last war between the two nations; in this battle, the Reincarnation Ancient Kingdom exhausted almost its entire army and thereby lost its nation."

"After the strongest Reincarnation Ancient Kingdom was destroyed, basically no other nation could stop the Daying Empire's expansion; within a hundred years, the Daying Empire essentially unified the entire Gu World."

"The five regions of East, West, South, North, and Center of the Gu World were all incorporated into the Daying Empire's territory, making the Daying Empire the only unified dynasty in history."

Long Ziyan slowly walked over; speaking of this history, a rare look of excitement appeared in her eyes.

Long Xuan recalled his current location; based on the memories his Fire Clone had gained from reading those geography books, his current position should be in the Western Regions.

The Western Regions were divided into Thirty-Six Lands, with the Central Earth being the largest; his current location should be the Western Lands among the Thirty-Six Lands, and moreover, the westernmost part of the Western Lands.

In other words, he was at the westernmost point of this world, situated at its very edge; the place at the world's far west was also called the Far West Region.

It was simply too peripheral; since the Daying Empire had unified the five regions, its capital would surely be built in the strongest Central Region, and the distance from the Central Region to the Far West Region was the distance from the World Center to the world's edge—truly too far.

How could an Imperial Tomb be built in such a remote location? Could it be to prevent theft?

Moreover, the entire Western Lands operated with Cultivation Clans as units and had never been controlled by any nation; could it be that this place had once been ruled by the Daying Empire?

Long Xuan felt somewhat bewildered, completely confused, with mysteries everywhere.

"Could this place have once been territory of the Daying Empire?" Long Xuan asked in confusion.

Regarding historical questions, Long Ziyan naturally knew the answers; she explained patiently, "During the peak of the Daying Empire, every corner of this world was territory of the Daying Empire."

"However, this world is simply too vast to be conquered by military force alone, so the vast majority of regions merely submitted; you can understand it as nominal control, with limited rights exercisable."

"The Far West Region once nominally belonged to the Daying Empire, but the Daying Empire's systems, laws, customs, culture, and currency were never implemented here."

"This place was simply too barren; they treated it as a land of exile, sending many criminals to be banished here."

Hearing this, Long Xuan could not help but twitch the corner of his mouth; the place where he lived in his Past Life was also called a land of exile in ancient times, so his birthplace was actually regarded by others as a place of exile, which was undeniably a very face-losing matter.

Yet a new doubt arose at this moment: how could the Empress Tomb be built in a land of exile? Was she also banished? Did she exile herself?

How could this be possible? Even if one committed a grave error, it would be impossible, unless the person who committed the error was not her.

Thinking this way, Long Xuan suddenly shivered; he thought of a possibility, indeed the only possibility he could conceive.

Long Xuan suddenly thought of the huge flaw in the 'Sun Moon Heart Scripture'; that Female Emperor had not fully mastered the Cultivation Method, so the Clones she refined carried the risk of rebellion and could kill their master at any time.

Was it possible that the one buried in this tomb was not her true self at all, but merely one of her Clones? Had she Buried Alive a Clone intent on killing its master right here?

His eyes widened; he felt this was highly probable, and the amount of information was quite significant.

Based on the information he had gathered so far, the possibility that the owner of this Ancient Tomb was the Yaoguang Female Emperor was already very low.

This information was very useful to him; if this Ancient Tomb was not an Imperial Tomb, then the danger level of the Sleeping Hall would drop by several grades.

But at the same time, there was a downside: if this Ancient Tomb was not the Empress Tomb, then the burial objects would surely not be numerous, and their value would be very limited.

Of course, this was relative; compared to a true Imperial Tomb, the burial objects in this Ancient Tomb certainly could not compare, but for him, a tiny Gu Cultivator at the Spirit Gathering Stage, the burial objects in the tomb were already astonishing enough to make his heart stir.

"Senior Sister! Have you ever considered that the one buried in this tomb might only be the Female Emperor's Clone?" Long Xuan told Long Ziyan his speculation.

Long Ziyan did not show any surprise; evidently, she had already formed this speculation long ago.

"I have consulted a large number of History Books for verification; the true Yaoguang Female Emperor has already achieved Ascension; she is the only person in ten thousand years to successfully Ascend to the Spirit Realm."

"Because the Yaoguang Female Emperor had no offspring, after she Ascended, the vast Daying Empire quickly fell apart, returning to its previous chaotic pattern with countless large and small nations."

Long Ziyan wore an expression of great pity.

The Spirit Realm? Where is the Spirit Realm? Long Xuan frowned, revealing a look of confusion; yet although his heart was bursting with curiosity, he still chose not to ask further.

Time is running out; he had no time to ask questions like a curious child. His mind was full of doubts, and he planned to sort them out after he stepped outside.

(End of Chapter)